Well, compared to murder, fabricating stories isn't so bad, now is it?

Finkel returns

Before there was Jayson Blair, there was Michael Finkel. From New York mag, in March 2002:

Michael Finkel knew how to tell a story, and he told some great ones for The New York Times Magazine—until last week, in an unprecedented editors’ note, the paper revealed that the title character of his November 18 story, ‘Is Youssouf Malé a Slave?,’ was actually a composite of several young men. Finkel, 33, was fired, leaving some to wonder if the Times had been too taken with his (too-hard-to-check) articles from such far-flung locales as the Ivory Coast, Gaza, and Haiti, where he famously had to be rescued from a refugee boat.

Finkel

AW+

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Spring Special

Save 30% Off an ADWEEK Subscription Today!

View Your Options

Already a member? Sign in